India is thus caught in a vicious cycle. With the aggregate central and state government deficit running at a debilitating 10 percent of GDP since 1998, interest payments on this debt comprise the single-largest government expense. Fiscal debt servicing combines with defense spending and subsidies to total 60 percent of the budget. Insufficient funds remain for necessary investments in health, primary education, and infrastructure. Economists have identified several methods to reduce the fiscal deficit, but in a democracy, interest groups mobilize to block each of these pathways to fiscal solvency. India’s emergence as a major global power will depend significantly on whether state and society can simultaneously mobilize investment to improve the capacities of its poor and reduce the country’s fiscal deficit.